financial woes due to the shutdown, the White House
said
US President Barack Obama is willing to sign a
"clean" short-term increase to the US borrowing
limit that is free from Republican budget and
policy demands, his spokesman has said.
Jay Carney's remarks came amid talks aimed at ending
the twin fiscal crises threatening the US and world
economies.
The US is in the 11th day of a partial government
shutdown.
But the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon and Mount
Rushmore, closed by the shutdown, will now re-open.
The funding will be provided by the states of New York,
Arizona and South Dakota, however, with other
national parks and monuments remaining closed due
to the deadlock in Washington.
As the well as the shutdown, the US is heading towards
default if it does not raise its debt limit by 17 October.
"If the Congress were to pass a clean debt ceiling of
short duration to avoid default, the president would
sign that," Mr Carney said, following rounds of talks
among Mr Obama and Senate and House Republicans.
But Mr Carney reiterated the White House would not
accept a debt ceiling rise with conditions attached,
saying the right thing to do was to "remove that gun
from the table".
And the White House spokesman said there was still
"no acceptable reason to keep the government shut
down".
'Not enough'
The partial government shutdown, which has sent
home hundreds of thousands of government workers
on unpaid leave, began on 1 October after Republicans
refused to pass a new budget unless Mr Obama and the
Democrats agreed to delay Mr Obama's signature
healthcare reform law of 2010 or eliminate its funding.
The White House has repeatedly said it would not
undermine the law, known as Obamacare, nor
negotiate over larger budget matters, until Republicans
vote to end the threat of default and reopen the
government.
Mr Carney also condemned a proposal floated by the
House Republicans for a six-week debt limit increase in
exchange for broader budget negotiations.
He said it would "put us right back where we are today
in just six weeks, on the verge of Thanksgiving and the
obviously important shopping season leading up to the
holidays, and that would create enormous uncertainty
for our economy... We don't think that's the right way
to go".
The Democratic-controlled Senate is set to vote on
Saturday on a 15-month extension of the debt ceiling,
which would remove the issue from next year's
congressional campaigns.
'Everybody is talking'
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans left a meeting at the
White House on Friday which they described as
constructive.
Republican Senator Susan Collins said after leaving the
White House on Friday that Mr Obama had expressed
interest in elements of her plan to fix both crises, but
"did not endorse it".
Ms Collins's plan, one of several being considered by
Republicans in the Senate, includes a repeal of a tax on
medical devices, which was designed to help fund
insurance subsidies in Mr Obama's healthcare law.
"He obviously did not agree with my descriptions of the
negative impact of the tax," Ms Collins said.
"But he clearly also recognises that it is not the heart of
Obamacare in any way, and that as long as the revenue
is replaced, as I proposed, that it does not hurt his
signature programme."
Other Republicans seemed to share Ms Collins's
optimism but did not hint a deal was near.
"Everybody is talking to everybody now, and I'm
encouraged by that," Senator Mike Johanns said.
As the shutdown entered its 11th day, Mr Obama met a
group of small business owners at the White House
who told of financial woes caused by the shutdown.
"They shared stories with the President about contracts
cancelled or put on hold, furloughed workers and the
potential for shift and staff reductions should the
shutdown continue," the White House said in a
statement.
On Capitol Hill, industry and government officials told a
Senate panel that the shutdown's economic impact
would intensify with each passing day.
Marion Blakey, chief executive of the Aerospace
Industries Association, told the committee the
shutdown had already virtually stopped certification of
new aircraft, equipment and training simulators,
because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had
placed more than 90% of its employees who work on
such issues on unpaid leave.
And National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman
Deborah Hersman said her agency was no longer
sending investigators to accident sites, including a fatal
bus crash that killed six people in Tennessee, an oil spill
site in North Dakota, and a small aeroplane crash in
Arizona that killed four.
Major parks reopen
About 15,000 workers in the private sector have
already been laid-off as a result of the shutdown, the
labour department has said.
On Friday, it was announced the Statue of Liberty and
the Grand Canyon, two world-renowned national parks
that had been closed since the government shutdown,
are to open soon.
Operation of the parks will be funded by the states of
New York and Arizona, respectively.
"We will not allow this international symbol of freedom
to remain closed because of the dysfunction and
gridlock of Washington," New York Governor Andrew
Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, said: ""I'm
gratified the Obama administration agreed to reverse its
policy and allow Arizona to reopen Grand Canyon,
Arizona's most treasured landmark and a crucial driver
of revenue to the state."
A survey suggests the majority of Americans blame the
Republicans for the partial shutdown.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll suggests 53% of
Americans fault Republicans for the crisis, compared
with 31% who say the Democrats are responsible.
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